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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24245647">Inferences and Indiscretion</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thanku4urlove/pseuds/thanku4urlove'>thanku4urlove</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>SEVENTEEN (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Awkward Conversations, Best Friends, Coming Out, Gen, Mentioned SEVENTEEN Ensemble, Predebut Seventeen, bc this is gen mostly, josh is a lil awkward, kind of, the &amp; is a platonic tag!!, there is a tiny mention of jihoon/mingyu because I physically cannot help myself</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 20:42:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,363</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24245647</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/thanku4urlove/pseuds/thanku4urlove</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Jeonghan almost laughed, but Jisoo was all tense again. Not in a way that seemed bad. Just... Just nervous. Nervous for the same reason he had gotten tense the last time Jeonghan had indirectly asked about sexuality, nervous for the same reason he had gotten tense when Jeonghan had said that Mingyu and Jihoon would make a cute couple; why he was taking incredible care not to touch another boy, even in a situation where an accidental bump of shoulders wouldn’t be unusual. </i>
</p>
<p>Jeonghan has a suspicion about Joshua, so he asks if he's gay by taking a chance and coming out first.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hong Jisoo | Joshua &amp; Yoon Jeonghan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>111</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Inferences and Indiscretion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I've been watching nothing but Seventeen TV lately, can you tell?</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Jeonghan was sitting against the wall, watching the others dance, the music of the latest SHINee single blasting through the room. Jeonghan liked the music, but it was loud, and there was always the danger of being pulled up from the floor to dance by the very friendly boys that Jeonghan didn't really know that well and wasn't keen on embarrassing himself in front of quite yet. When the song ended though, another didn't start; Soonyoung had apparently decided that it was time to actually start working on choreography, rounding everyone up, taking the group through the counts at half speed and checking everyone's angles. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hi!" Came a bright voice, Jeonghan looking up. It was the boy from LA, the older one, standing in front of him and smiling at him. He was the newest one, Jeonghan knew, aside from himself, and Jeonghan wondered what it was he was doing. "I'm Joshua--or, Jisoo, I guess." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeonghan already knew that. "I can call you Joshua, if you want." He offered, but Joshua--Jisoo?--shook his head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"If that's what they want to call me, I guess I'll have to get used to it." He said. "Do you know everyone else's name yet?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was making small talk, apparently. Jeonghan knew why he was doing it, knowing he looked lonely, just sitting against the wall like this, but he couldn’t help it. He was still nervous around them all. He felt like he didn’t yet know how he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>supposed </span>
  </em>
  <span>to act, and was trying to figure that out first. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeonghan did already know everyone's name. He had learned them all the day he'd first met them. Jeonghan was good with people, and his first step of getting someone to like him was always to get their name right. Past names though, his lack of information was concerning, armed with only a few observations and inferences. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No." He lied instead, and as he'd hoped he would, Jisoo sat down next to him. The action was interesting, Jeonghan unable not to watch him; Jisoo was being very specific with where he was placing his body, very specific with the distance he was placing between himself and Jeonghan. It seemed calculated, but also so practiced that it was second nature at the same time, and Jeonghan couldn't help but wonder why.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'll teach you, then." Jisoo said. "They'll be so impressed when you already know all of their names." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You don't need to practice?" Jeonghan asked, pointing to the group across the room, and Jisoo shook his head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm not in this routine." He explained. "Plus, it's probably too hard. Soonyoung is really good though, isn't he? He's the one with the hat over there." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jisoo pointed, Jeonghan leaning a bit closer in the action of playing along to try and see which one Soonyoung was. Jisoo leaned away, keeping the distance, the motion catching Jeonghan so off guard that he nearly couldn't control his expression of surprise. He moved back to his original position, and Jisoo moved back too, and Jeonghan had a feeling, a very specific feeling. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That one is Wonwoo, and that one is Dongjin." Jisoo continued, as though absolutely nothing had happened. "And that's Seokmin. He's really nice, but he can be really loud, and he tries to be funny. He likes it a lot when you laugh at his jokes." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"When you laugh?" Jeonghan clarified, trying not to laugh himself. "So you just laugh even if they're not funny? Just so that he'll like you?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jisoo looked taken aback for a moment, his mouth open. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I--well, it's rude not to--" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then Jeonghan fully started laughing, and Jisoo's entire body relaxed, his mouth breaking out into a smile. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I thought you were judging me!" He exclaimed, and Jeonghan began shaking his head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"There's nothing wrong with wanting people to like you." Jeonghan told him, and Jisoo looked surprised again, but in a different way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No one's ever said that to me before." He said, and Jeonghan shrugged. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What's bad about Seokmin's jokes?" He asked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Well, some of them are just weird." Jisoo said. "Things he does with Soonyoung and Seungkwan sometimes. Like... He and Soonyoung have this joke where they pretend to be a couple, and it's weird." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's... Weird?" Jeonghan asked cautiously. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah!" Jisoo answered. "I mean, it is funny, but the things they say to each other just don't make sense sometimes. And Soonyoung puts on this voice, and Seokmin makes this face...” Jisoo trailed off in his attempt to explain and Jeonghan was wondering if not only had his hunch been wrong about Jisoo--he really didn’t think so, but it still was only a hunch--but also about what kind of assumptions Soonyoung and Seokmin had about gay couples. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And I don’t know--maybe I don’t get the references because my grandmother is in California and doesn’t live here, but--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your grandmother?” Jeonghan asked. He felt like he must have missed something, unable to see what Jisoo’s grandmother had to do with any of this. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, yeah. They pretend to be old people.” Jisoo said, and suddenly some things were making more sense. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you sure they’re not just being, like... Old friends?” Jeonghan asked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, they’re definitely married.” Jisoo said. “Soonyoung is the grandma.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh!” All of it made more sense now. “When you said they pretended to be a couple, I thought you meant...” He trailed off, and Jisoo’s eyes went big.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, oh. No, nothing like that. I mean, they might have done that at some point. Seokmin has pretended to be Seungkwan’s boyfriend before.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re sure it was pretend?” Jeonghan asked, and Jisoo nodded. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Definitely. Soonyoung was also there and he was pretending to be Seokmin’s dad.” He said. “Besides, Seokmin isn’t... He has a girlfriend right now. He and Mingyu both do.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mingyu does?” Jeonghan was unable to hide his surprise about that. Jisoo raised his eyebrows. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” He asked, so Jeonghan decided to be honest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mingyu seems a bit...” He didn’t know how to phrase it, deciding to go a different route instead, casting around, his eyes landing on a very plausible example that was currently making a lot of noise in the middle of the room. “I just thought that maybe there was something going on with Mingyu and Jihoon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mingyu and Jihoon?” Jisoo echoed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean... They touch each other a lot.” Jeonghan said. He pointed into the room where, despite the genuine attempt Soonyoung was making at leading practice, Mingyu and Jihoon were on the floor wrestling, Mingyu letting out wild giggles, all of their limbs tangled up. None of the other boys were acting like this behavior was anything unusual, even when Jihoon slipped a hand under Mingyu’s shirt and pinched </span>
  <em>
    <span>something </span>
  </em>
  <span>that had Mingyu yelling. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean... You’re not wrong.” Jisoo admitted, also watching them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And Mingyu is younger but he’s taller, and Jihoon jumps on him all the time... I don’t know, I thought it would be really cute.” Jeonghan said, making sure the end of his sentence was clear, and sounded as honest as he could make it. Jisoo blinked a bit, looking back out at them; Jihoon was sitting on Mingyu’s chest now, poking at his cheeks and nose. Mingyu was making no attempt to stop him, his hands on Jihoon’s thighs instead, occasionally pretending to bite at Jihoon’s fingers, Jihoon giggling each time he did. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I guess it would be cute.” Jisoo admitted, and while he didn’t sound like he was lying, his body was now very tense. Interesting. “Where were we?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh... Jihoon.” Jisoo hadn’t actually pointed out Jihoon or Mingyu yet, Jeonghan hoping they could just gloss over the fact that he was supposed to not know who they were. Thankfully, Jisoo seemed too distracted to notice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, well... That’s Chan, and that’s Doyoon...”Jisoo pointed to all of them, saying something short about each person when he did. Some of the things were fun facts, and some of the things were personal perceptions, but they were helpful either way; knowing that Seungkwan loved Wonder Girls could be an ice breaker, and lead to a positive conversation when they talked to each other. Jeonghan would just have to learn about Wonder Girls first, but he could do that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And that’s Seungcheol.” Jisoo said. “He’s the oldest of us, and he’s been here for a long time. He’s a good person to go to for help--he likes to help solve problems and stuff--but you need to be careful because he might kiss you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He--what?” That was about the last thing Jeonghan expected Jisoo to say, who nodded a bit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. He’s kissed Doyoon, and Mingyu, and Junhui, and Soonyoung. And he was going to kiss Chan once, but then Chan got scared and almost cried.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is he...” It felt too blatant to ask the question out loud. “Does he like it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He... Well, he doesn’t not like it, I guess.” Jisoo said, and Jeonghan almost laughed, but Jisoo was all tense again. Not in a way that seemed bad. Just... Just nervous. Nervous for the same reason he had gotten tense the last time Jeonghan had indirectly asked about sexuality, nervous for the same reason he had gotten tense when Jeonghan had said that Mingyu and Jihoon would make a cute couple; why he was taking incredible care not to touch another boy, even in a situation where an accidental bump of shoulders wouldn’t be unusual. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a joke, I think.” Jisoo finally said. “He does it because it’s funny.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh.” Jeonghan said. Then he made a decision, swallowing and saying next, “That’s a bit disappointing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Disappointing?” Jisoo echoed, and Jeonghan forced himself not to take a deep breath, because he wouldn’t be able to let it out casually, because he needed to sound calm and nonchalant and normal. Which was hard, because he had a lot riding on this hunch about Jisoo, and while Jeonghan did think that he was right, Jisoo was about to either become his best friend, or someone Jeonghan would have to avoid for the rest of his life. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think he’s cute, that’s all.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jisoo was looking him full in the face, like he expected Jeonghan to break, like this was some kind of joke and Jeonghan was about to start laughing. And Jeonghan supposed that made sense; it was probably more likely--and more socially acceptable--to make a joke about being gay than to actually come out to someone, especially someone like Jisoo, who was barely a friend. But Jeonghan had committed to this, and he simply looked back, pretending his heart wasn’t hammering. It was Jisoo’s turn to say something.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jisoo looked back into the room, his entire body incredibly still now, his voice noticeably quieter when he spoke again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s not really my type.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was impossible for Jeonghan not to smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh?” He asked. “What is your type?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeonghan fully expected Jisoo to derail the conversation, to either make a joke or say some girl, some American actress that he wouldn’t know. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I... I don’t know.” Jisoo’s voice was casual in the most forced way Jeonghan had ever heard, like he was trying, just a bit, not to panic. “I mean, Soonyoung’s smile is nice. I think his eyes are pretty.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bringing Soonyoung into it, a boy that they knew, was a lot like what Jeonghan had said about Seungcheol. That he was doing the same thing. Was saying the same thing as Jeonghan was. And he was trying to treat it casually, so Jeonghan did too. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So you like pretty boys, huh?” He asked. This was it; Jisoo’s last chance to make a joke and back out of the topic, if he wanted. He could laugh it off. Instead, he just shrugged a little and looked down. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess so, yeah.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeonghan beamed, letting himself relax, letting himself tease Jisoo a little bit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That must be hard, trying to find someone pretty, because I think you’re the prettiest person here.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jisoo fully laughed at that, and while the laugh was more relaxed--maybe from surprise from the compliment--his next words still weren’t. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe that’s why I’m single, huh?” He asked, and that had Jeonghan laughing. Jisoo started laughing again, Jeonghan deciding then and there that Jisoo was going to be his best friend. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Doesn’t everyone like pretty boys?” Jisoo asked after a moment. His voice was still hushed, despite them being all the way across the room from everyone else and the livestream cameras being turned off for the day. Jeonghan shrugged. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, pretty is okay. I kind of like it when they can haul me over their shoulder though.” Jeonghan said, Jisoo going pink at the words, giggling in an embarrassed way. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, Seungcheol can definitely do that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It... It’s okay.” Jeonghan said. He’d been trying not to mention it, but he couldn’t really ignore the tension in Jisoo’s shoulders any longer. “You don’t have to worry around me. About this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know, I’m sorry, it’s just...” Jisoo’s eyes were on his hands. “The only people I’ve ever told are my mom, and a friend from LA.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s okay.” Experimentally, Jeonghan laid his head on Jisoo’s shoulder. This time, Jisoo let him. “The only person I’ve ever told is you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The look of shock on Jisoo’s face put in perspective just how crazy of a gamble the entire conversation had been, but Jeonghan felt too lucky about how it had played out to care much.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Besides, we can’t be the only ones.” He said after a moment. He pointed out into the room. “Anyone else, do you think?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, Seungkwan really, really likes Beyoncé and Mariah Carey.” Jisoo said. He said it like it was an implication, but Jeonghan figured it was an implication that might only matter in California. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That means absolutely nothing to me.” He said back, and Jisoo fully began to laugh, looking more unrestrained in that moment than he had since the conversation started. The action jostled Jeonghan’s head, but when the laughter had stopped, Jisoo’s shoulders weren’t tense anymore, and Jeonghan couldn’t help but smile. </span>
</p>
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